THIS is the gleaming £140,000 supercar seized from a suspected fraudster.

THIS is the gleaming £140,000 supercar seized from a suspected fraudster.

Sadly for the Birmingham suspect, he may never get to slide behind the wheel of the Ferrari California convertible that can hit 193mph and even made Jeremy Clarkson drool.

The stunning black sports car was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act as part of an on-going investigation and has remained in limbo in a Sheffield dealership as it was considered too valuable to move.

If detectives can prove it was bought with the profits of crime, they will look to seize it or force its sale to show crime does not pay. And it is not the only performance car West Midlands Police has in its hands.

In recent months, officers have also seized a Bentley soft top, a Lamborghini and a BMW X6. And the total value of cars they have restrained pending further investigations tops a whopping £450,000.

Det Insp Andy Bannister said officers were determined to stop convicted and suspected crooks living a life of luxury on the back of other people’s misery.

He said: “We want to let the public know we are working really hard to make sure crime does not pay.

“The cars have been restrained while we carry out investigations into what we believe has been criminal behaviour.

“We are committed to using the Proceeds of Crime Act to full capacity, seizing cash and goods we believe have been funded from illegal operations.

“An element of all that is recovered through the courts is ploughed back into the fight against crime.”

In the last 18 months, the force has secured forfeitures and confiscations totalling more than £15 million from crooks and also seized cash totalling £5 million.

They also have £30 million of what were believed to be criminal assets restrained pending court proceedings.

Inquiries into criminal finances have found crooks splash their cash on high performance cars.

Convicted brothel boss Carl Pritchett, who ran the Cuddles massage parlour in Hagley Road, Bearwood, raked in £2 million and treated himself to a Ferrari.